16 BULLETIN 53, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



2i feet. The maximum grade was reduced from 4i per cent to 3* per cent. 

 The equipment consisted of one 2-horse plow, 5 drag scrapers, one 6-horse road 

 grader, slat-bottom wagons, picks, shovels, etc. Labor cost $1.75 and teams $5 

 per 10-hour day. 



The improvement consisted in grading and shaping the existing road and 

 surfacing it with a sand-clay mixture. The earth was loosened with plows and 

 hauled in wagons and on drag scrapers for an average haul of 700 feet :nul a 

 maximum haul of 1,900 feet. The material was spread and the road shaped by 

 means of the road grader. One drainage ditch was constructed leading away 

 from the road at station 25. The ditch was 5 feet wide by 1 foot deep by 300 

 feet long. Clay for surfacing was hauled an average distance of one-half mile, 

 and the sand an average distance of three-fourths of a mile. These materials 

 were spread in uniform layers of 7 inches and 3 inches, respectively, and 

 thoroughly mixed. 



The road was then shaped so that the crown of the finished surface was 1 

 inch to 1 foot. Five days were lost on account of unfavorable weather and six 

 days from other causes. The weather and labor conditions were largely respon- 

 sible for the high cost of this work. 



The road was graded to a length of 2,400 feet, with a width of 28 feet in cuts 

 and 20 feet in fills. The entire length was surfaced to a width of 16 feet, 

 making the surfaced area 4,267 square yards. Earth to the amount of 1,450 

 cubic yards was moved in excavation, and 1,500 cubic yards of surfacing ma- 

 terial was used. The total cost of the road to the community was $1,351.51, 

 which is at the rate of $0,317 per square yard. The principal items of cost 

 were: Excavation, 1,450 cubic yards, at $0.30 per cubic yard, $432; shaping 

 the subgrade, at $0,031. per square yard, $130.63 ; clearing and grubbing, 

 $15.50 ; trimming the shoulders and ditches, $55.38 ; excavating 303.3 cubic 

 yards of sand, at $0.15 per cubic yard, $45.50; loosening and loading 830 

 cubic yards of clay, at $0,109 per cubic yax-d, $90.49 ; hauling clay, 830 cubic 

 yards, at $0,265 per cubic yard, $220 ; loosening and loading 660 cubic yards of 

 sand, at $0,116 per cubic yard, $76.38; hauling sand, 660 cubic yards, at $0.24 

 per cubic yard, $158.75 ; spreading sand, 660 cubic yards, at $0,019 per cubic 

 yard, $12.25; spreading clay, 830 cubic yards, at $0,021 per cubic yard, $17.50; 

 mixing sand and clay, 4,267 square yards, at $0.0035 per square yard, $15 ; final 

 shaping, at $0.0035 per square yard, $15 ; and general expenses, $67.13. 



Quitman, Ga. — Work was begun on a sand-clay road extending from Quitman 

 toward Spain, on January 30, 3913, and completed on February 21, 1913, with 

 the loss of five days on account of bad weather. The adjacent land is rolling 

 and the natural soil is sand from station to station 15, clay from station 15 

 to station 22. sand from station 22 to station 30, clay from station 30 to station 

 34, sand from station 34 to station 44, clay from station 44 to station 48, and 

 sand from station 48 to station 61. 



A total length of 6,100 feet was graded 30 feet wide in cuts and 20 feet wide 

 in fills, making 15,000 square yards. Earth was excavated to the amount of 

 1,050 cubic yards, and the average haul was 375 feet and the maximum haul, 

 500 feet. Throughout its entire length the road was surfaced to a width of 14 

 feet, making 9,489 square yards. The sand-clay surface was constructed as 

 follows : The sand and clay were spread uniformly in two courses of 4 inches 

 and 8 inches in loose depth, respectively. These materials were then thoroughly 

 mixed first with a plow and then with a disk harrow, after which the road was 

 shaped with a road grader. It was immediately opened to traffic and as ruts 

 were formed they were filled by dragging. Clay to the amount of 1,590 cubic 

 yards was hauled to the road, dumped, and spread by hand with shovels. Sand 

 was used to the amount of 790 cubic yards, a part of which was hauled and 



